After five years lost in the wilds of addiction, Chamber Strings front man Kevin Junior tries to pick up where he left off.
Author Archives: Bob Mehr
Posted inMusic
On the Beat
A Chicago cop with a love for 60s soul helps the city’s forgotten stars get heard again.
Posted inMusic
A Long-Distance Relationship
With help from some friends in Chicago, Bay Area songwriter Sonny Smith has made the record that could make his career.
Posted inMusic
The Plumber
Steve Albini on Touch and Go, the Stooges, and how his analog work ethic is faring in the digital age
Posted inArts & Culture
Tommy Keene
Nearly everything written about Tommy Keene since his mid-90s comeback has hinged on his bad luck with the record industry–the veteran singer, songwriter, and sometime sideman has become a symbol for a legion of gifted but commercially frustrated pop practitioners. But watching him play one perfectly realized song after another during a solo set at […]
Posted inBlogs
Al Casey, 1936-2006
The session guitarist who’s worked with the Beach Boys, Glen Campbell, Lee Hazlewood, and many more passes away.
Posted inMusic
Delmark on DVD
A new venture helps change the fortunes of the venerable jazz and blues label.
Posted inBlogs
Like a Good Neighbor . . .
Ambulette gets insurance money from gear theft; looks to mix Capitol Records debut
Posted inBlogs
Flesh and fury
Arthur magazine releases comp CD to benefit anti-military recruiting campaigns.
Posted inMusic
Swampy but Smooth; A Silworm Postmortem
Catfish Haven could be the closest thing indie rock has to the Doobies.
Posted inMusic
The Blair Witch-y Project
Industrial-disco refugee Chris Connelly heads for the woods with Tim Kinsella.
Posted inArts & Culture
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick has been treading water on record for years, but live they’re peerless, capable of turning on classic-rock radio punters and youthful music snobs alike. As with their last few studio efforts, the recent Rockford (Big 3) is being touted as the return to form fans have been waiting for since 1979’s Dream Police. […]